The Jewish Shema Yisrael and the Qur'an's surah (chapter) 112 known as Al Ikhlas share quite a few similarities. While in today's world many Muslims seem to believe that it is their duty to kill as many Jews as possible and the two religions don't always get on as well as they could, when one looks to the texts and the teachings of these two religions, one finds a lot of similarities.
Of the world's three monotheistic faiths, Judaism came first, Christianity came second and Islam came third. While Christianity believes in a three-in-one package deal, as opposed to the only-one beliefs of the other two religions, the three religions are still considered connected monotheistic religions. While Judaism has remained a religion of roughly 20 million people or less, both Christianity and Islam have become huge religions with adherents numbering in the billions, in most countries of the world. All three religions have gone through many changes and developments since their founding. Judaism has branched into many different varieties and is still recovering from the death of more than six million innocent men, women and children during the Second World War. Christianity split from Judaism early on, then branched off into eastern and western branches, the western once again splitting off into Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as many other smaller branches spread all over the world. Islam too branched off into two distinct branches early on. The majority of the world's Muslims are Sunnis, while countries such as Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Lebanon have many Shia Muslims. While these two main branches of Islam share many similarities, there are also many differences, as with the many branches of the other monotheistic religions. Yet what has remained the same for many, many years for both Judaism and Islam are the religions' holy books - the Torah (and entire Tanakh) for Judaism, (which Christians know as the 'Old Testament') and the Qur'an for Islam.
From the holy books of these two religions - the Torah and the Qur'an - come two very similar declarations of faith and belief. Both religions agree that there is one God and one only, not two or three or many, not three-in-one, but just one, only one. Whatever may happen in the world between the followers of these two religions, I choose to focus on the similarities instead of the differences.
The full Shema Yisrael prayer is longer than just a single line and is made up of three parts, taken from three different sections of the Torah. The first part starts with the words Shema Yisrael - Hear, O Israel - and comes from Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. (Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.) And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be in your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Source: Judaism 101: Shema | Judaism 101
For the full text of the prayer, including the paragraphs from Deuteronomy 11 and Numbers 15, click on the link above. This ancient prayer is commanded in the Torah and is recited at least twice a day, in the mornings and in the evenings. The second line - Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever - is not actually found in the Bible and is therefore said in an undertone. It is (according to the above website) "a congregational response from the days of the Temple: whenever the High Priest would say the Divine Name, the people would respond with this line." The Temple (in Jerusalem in Israel) was the center of Jewish life and the Temple Mount on which the Temple stood is to this day the location Jews across the world pray towards. It is the holiest and most important location in the entire world, according to Judaism. The second Temple - which is the exact same Temple mentioned in the stories about Jesus' time in Jerusalem - was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 CE. Many Jewish people hope and pray that a third Temple will be built or will arise. On the place where the Temple stood, on top of the Temple Mount, now stands an Islamic mosque, which is why Muslims too care greatly about the Temple Mount and why both religions see it as theirs.
While the Christian religion as it is today seems to have less in common with the two religions that came before and after it than they have in common with each other, it is important to remember that as a Jewish man, Jesus too taught Jewish values and taught from the Jewish Bible. A quote from the Christian Bible's book of Mark (12:28-30)
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
Today's Christianity may differ greatly from those religions much like it, however it started off with one Jewish man preaching and teaching about the loving God of his forefathers. Jesus too spent time in Jerusalem and while the Jerusalem of his time was very different from the Jerusalem of the Islamic age or of today, his connection to the city is yet another reason why it is important to one of the world's major religions. Many images of Jerusalem show the golden dome of the Dome of the Rock mosque on top of the Temple Mount, known in Arabic as the Haram ash-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), with the Jewish prayer site situated below. Known as the western wall (also, the wailing wall), the Jewish people of today pray at a foundation wall of the Temple Mount, close to the location where the Temple stood atop the Mount. The Dome of the Rock mosque atop the Temple Mount was completed in 691 CE and is one of the oldest mosques still standing. While it is said that the earliest Muslims prayed towards Jerusalem like the Jewish people, the current qibla (direction of prayer) is Mecca (in Saudi Arabia) and has been since the days of Muhammad.
Speaking of Muhammad and Mecca - the Islamic holy book known as the Qur'an (or Koran, to many westerners) was revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad during his lifetime (c 570 CE - 632 CE). Consisting of 114 individual chapters arranged roughly from longer to shorter ones, the surah or chapter known as Al Ikhlas ("Fidelity" or "Sincerity") is the 112th surah. One of the shortest chapters in the Qur'an, it is also one of the most well-known chapters. While for many (parts of) surahs it is known where they were revealed, in Mecca during Islam's earliest days or in Medina after the Muslims fled from Mecca, when it comes to Al-Ikhlas there are different theories (which you can read about by following the link below). Due to the nature of the chapter, it seems likeliest that it is a Meccan surah revealed in the very early days of Islam.
Say, "He is Allah , [who is] One,
Allah, the Eternal Refuge.
He neither begets nor is born
Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
Source: 112 Surah Al-Ikhlas | Al-Quran al-Kareem
While Genesis speaks of God walking with Adam and Eve (something many Jews don't take literally, admittedly) and Christians believe that God had a son (who was also God or part-God or would again be God... It's confusing...), Islam does not believe that God is made of any material we know, does not believe God begets or was begotten, does not see God as represented by images or as 'human enough' to walk on earth. The Arabic word Allah, meaning God, comes from the words Al-Ilah (the God) and is the name Muslims use to refer to God. Interestingly, it is also the term for God used in Arabic-language Christian Bibles.
Islam sees God as beyond human knowledge and understanding, as all-wise and all-knowing, as the beginning and the end, the Eternal One. Surah Al-Ikhlas is one of the chapters of the Qur'an that clearly illustrates how Muslims see God. The Arabic term translated here as 'Eternal, Absolute' and 'Eternal Refuge' can be translated in different ways. According to Islam 101's page Concept of God in Islam:
The word ‘Assamad’ is difficult to translate. It means ‘absolute existence’, which can be attributed only to Allah (swt), all other existence being temporal or conditional. It also means that Allah (swt) is not dependant on any person or thing, but all persons and things are dependant on Him.
What is true of Islam's view of God is also true for Judaism's view of God. In both religions, there is no other divine being besides the One God who is all-knowing and all-seeing, a loving, benevolent and merciful God. Human beings are encouraged to serve God, to pray several times a day, to remember God throughout the day, to be kind and compassionate, merciful and just, loving and giving. Both religions see charity as important and stress treating orphans, widows and the elderly well. The similarities between the two religions don't end there. When it comes to rules regarding food, dress, interactions between people and even the prophets acknowledged by the two religions, there are also a great deal of similarities. Even reading the Jewish Bible (the Tanakh) and the Qur'an, it can be hard to distinguish if a verse comes from one book or the other. The world's three faiths that believe in prophets such as Adam, Abraham, Moses, David have more in common than prophets, phrases from holy books and a similar view of God. These three faiths in all their diversity are all religions that teach tolerance and kindness, love for one's neighbours and for God, encourage righteousness and right actions.
Of the world's three monotheistic faiths, Judaism came first, Christianity came second and Islam came third. While Christianity believes in a three-in-one package deal, as opposed to the only-one beliefs of the other two religions, the three religions are still considered connected monotheistic religions. While Judaism has remained a religion of roughly 20 million people or less, both Christianity and Islam have become huge religions with adherents numbering in the billions, in most countries of the world. All three religions have gone through many changes and developments since their founding. Judaism has branched into many different varieties and is still recovering from the death of more than six million innocent men, women and children during the Second World War. Christianity split from Judaism early on, then branched off into eastern and western branches, the western once again splitting off into Catholicism and Protestantism, as well as many other smaller branches spread all over the world. Islam too branched off into two distinct branches early on. The majority of the world's Muslims are Sunnis, while countries such as Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Lebanon have many Shia Muslims. While these two main branches of Islam share many similarities, there are also many differences, as with the many branches of the other monotheistic religions. Yet what has remained the same for many, many years for both Judaism and Islam are the religions' holy books - the Torah (and entire Tanakh) for Judaism, (which Christians know as the 'Old Testament') and the Qur'an for Islam.
From the holy books of these two religions - the Torah and the Qur'an - come two very similar declarations of faith and belief. Both religions agree that there is one God and one only, not two or three or many, not three-in-one, but just one, only one. Whatever may happen in the world between the followers of these two religions, I choose to focus on the similarities instead of the differences.
"Hear, O Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is one"
The full Shema Yisrael prayer is longer than just a single line and is made up of three parts, taken from three different sections of the Torah. The first part starts with the words Shema Yisrael - Hear, O Israel - and comes from Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. (Blessed be the Name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.) And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be in your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall speak of them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Source: Judaism 101: Shema | Judaism 101
For the full text of the prayer, including the paragraphs from Deuteronomy 11 and Numbers 15, click on the link above. This ancient prayer is commanded in the Torah and is recited at least twice a day, in the mornings and in the evenings. The second line - Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever - is not actually found in the Bible and is therefore said in an undertone. It is (according to the above website) "a congregational response from the days of the Temple: whenever the High Priest would say the Divine Name, the people would respond with this line." The Temple (in Jerusalem in Israel) was the center of Jewish life and the Temple Mount on which the Temple stood is to this day the location Jews across the world pray towards. It is the holiest and most important location in the entire world, according to Judaism. The second Temple - which is the exact same Temple mentioned in the stories about Jesus' time in Jerusalem - was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 CE. Many Jewish people hope and pray that a third Temple will be built or will arise. On the place where the Temple stood, on top of the Temple Mount, now stands an Islamic mosque, which is why Muslims too care greatly about the Temple Mount and why both religions see it as theirs.
While the Christian religion as it is today seems to have less in common with the two religions that came before and after it than they have in common with each other, it is important to remember that as a Jewish man, Jesus too taught Jewish values and taught from the Jewish Bible. A quote from the Christian Bible's book of Mark (12:28-30)
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
Today's Christianity may differ greatly from those religions much like it, however it started off with one Jewish man preaching and teaching about the loving God of his forefathers. Jesus too spent time in Jerusalem and while the Jerusalem of his time was very different from the Jerusalem of the Islamic age or of today, his connection to the city is yet another reason why it is important to one of the world's major religions. Many images of Jerusalem show the golden dome of the Dome of the Rock mosque on top of the Temple Mount, known in Arabic as the Haram ash-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), with the Jewish prayer site situated below. Known as the western wall (also, the wailing wall), the Jewish people of today pray at a foundation wall of the Temple Mount, close to the location where the Temple stood atop the Mount. The Dome of the Rock mosque atop the Temple Mount was completed in 691 CE and is one of the oldest mosques still standing. While it is said that the earliest Muslims prayed towards Jerusalem like the Jewish people, the current qibla (direction of prayer) is Mecca (in Saudi Arabia) and has been since the days of Muhammad.
Say, ‘He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute.’
Speaking of Muhammad and Mecca - the Islamic holy book known as the Qur'an (or Koran, to many westerners) was revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad during his lifetime (c 570 CE - 632 CE). Consisting of 114 individual chapters arranged roughly from longer to shorter ones, the surah or chapter known as Al Ikhlas ("Fidelity" or "Sincerity") is the 112th surah. One of the shortest chapters in the Qur'an, it is also one of the most well-known chapters. While for many (parts of) surahs it is known where they were revealed, in Mecca during Islam's earliest days or in Medina after the Muslims fled from Mecca, when it comes to Al-Ikhlas there are different theories (which you can read about by following the link below). Due to the nature of the chapter, it seems likeliest that it is a Meccan surah revealed in the very early days of Islam.
Allah, the Eternal Refuge.
He neither begets nor is born
Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
Source: 112 Surah Al-Ikhlas | Al-Quran al-Kareem
While Genesis speaks of God walking with Adam and Eve (something many Jews don't take literally, admittedly) and Christians believe that God had a son (who was also God or part-God or would again be God... It's confusing...), Islam does not believe that God is made of any material we know, does not believe God begets or was begotten, does not see God as represented by images or as 'human enough' to walk on earth. The Arabic word Allah, meaning God, comes from the words Al-Ilah (the God) and is the name Muslims use to refer to God. Interestingly, it is also the term for God used in Arabic-language Christian Bibles.
Islam sees God as beyond human knowledge and understanding, as all-wise and all-knowing, as the beginning and the end, the Eternal One. Surah Al-Ikhlas is one of the chapters of the Qur'an that clearly illustrates how Muslims see God. The Arabic term translated here as 'Eternal, Absolute' and 'Eternal Refuge' can be translated in different ways. According to Islam 101's page Concept of God in Islam:
The word ‘Assamad’ is difficult to translate. It means ‘absolute existence’, which can be attributed only to Allah (swt), all other existence being temporal or conditional. It also means that Allah (swt) is not dependant on any person or thing, but all persons and things are dependant on Him.
What is true of Islam's view of God is also true for Judaism's view of God. In both religions, there is no other divine being besides the One God who is all-knowing and all-seeing, a loving, benevolent and merciful God. Human beings are encouraged to serve God, to pray several times a day, to remember God throughout the day, to be kind and compassionate, merciful and just, loving and giving. Both religions see charity as important and stress treating orphans, widows and the elderly well. The similarities between the two religions don't end there. When it comes to rules regarding food, dress, interactions between people and even the prophets acknowledged by the two religions, there are also a great deal of similarities. Even reading the Jewish Bible (the Tanakh) and the Qur'an, it can be hard to distinguish if a verse comes from one book or the other. The world's three faiths that believe in prophets such as Adam, Abraham, Moses, David have more in common than prophets, phrases from holy books and a similar view of God. These three faiths in all their diversity are all religions that teach tolerance and kindness, love for one's neighbours and for God, encourage righteousness and right actions.
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